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Brattleboro, Vermont Travel Guide | |
| The first town you are likely to encounter if you come from New York City or Boston is Brattleboro, and in a way this is as it should be, for Brattleboro was the site of Vermont's first colonial settlement. | ||
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Today Brattleboro is one of the state's larger towns, with a population around 13,000 occupied in printing and manufacture of books, furniture and optical products. Brattleboro has a substantial arts colony: painters, sculptors, weavers, photographers, musicians, even circus arts. Stroll along Main Street for a look at the craft boutiques, studios, and antique arts and clothing shops. Then wander down to the south end of Main Street, past the historic Latchis Theater, to the former railroad station, now the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center. In 1724 a small fortress was built at the spot now marked by a granite commemoration stone, and named Fort Dummer. There had been European settlers in the area before that, but the fort became the focal point of a community as well as its principal defense against the Indians. As for famous sons, the great Mormon leader Brigham Young was born (1801) nearby in Windham County, and Rudyard Kipling married a Brattleboro woman in 1892, and they lived near the town for some time. My great aunt once operated a dry goods store in Brattleboro, and lived on a farm nearby. |
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 Main Street, Brattleboro VT.
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